Sifter



A. C. HOINESS Dec. 5, 1961 SIFTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 28, 1958 FIG. 6

R g m5 WW H C E m L A ATTORNEY Dec. 5, 1961 A. c; HOINESS SIFTER Filed Nov. 28, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR AL/CE C. HOI/VES'S ATTORNEY Dec. 5, 1961 A. c. HOINESS 3,011,640

SIFTER Filed Nov. 28, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Alice 6. Hoiness INVENTOR BY d W ATTORNEY Dec. 5, 1961 A. c. HOINESS 3,011,640

SIFTER Filed Nov. 28, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 0 c 47 Alice 6 Hairless 58 INVENTOR BY fiziatmw ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,011,640 SIFTER Alice C. Hoiness, 1120 N. 31st St., Billings, Mont. Filed Nov. 28, 1958, Ser. No. 777,144 8 Claims. (Cl. 209-283) The present invention relates to a sitter and is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application, Serial No. 681,808, filed September 3, 1957, now abandoned, and relates more particularly to a sitter for flour, cake mix, sugar, and is an improvement over my US. Patent No. 2,735,548, granted February 21, 1956, for Sifter Device.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device of this character in which a sifter is mounted in a permanent container, such as, a canister or the like, made of plastic or other suitable durable material.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device of this kind in which the sifter and its operating handle are so disposed that a plurality of the canisters can be placed side by side with their adjacent sides contacting and can be slid into and out of their storage position without disturbing adjacent canisters.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a Sifter device which can easily and-quickly be converted from a sitter to a shaker or sprinkler and then restored to its sifter position.

The present invention provides a method of precision flour measurement, the device delivering approximately 100 grams of flour per turn of the sifter device.

The present invention also contemplates the provision of a device of this type which can easily be refilled.

An aim of the present invention is to provide a sitter device which can be completely closed when not in use to prevent the entrance of dirt, dust or other extraneous matter when not in use, also, to stop or keep air or oxygen out of the flour, thus stopping germination of black bugs in flour.

The present invention also aims to provide a device of this kind which presents a pleasing appearance and occupies a minimum of space, and ready for use at all times.

A further aim of the present invention is to provide a sitter device which is perfectly balanced when it is set upon a fiat surface and the side walls and one end wall are recessed to provide a hand-grip perfected for the human hand.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinafter more fully described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings in which the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the several views,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a sifter device constructed in accordance with the present invention, showing the closure cap in exploded relation thereto,

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view with the cover in closed position.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary top plan view with the cover in its sprinkling position,

FIGURE 7 is a similar view with the cover in its refilling position,

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention, showing the closure cap in exploded relation thereto,

FIGURE 9 is an end elevational view of a plurality of the devices stored in side by side contacting relation,

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken on the line 1010 of FIGURE 8, with the closure cap in its closed position,

FIGURE 11 is a sectional View taken 11-11 of FIGURE 10, and

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view taken on the line 1212 of FIGURE 11.

Referring more particularly to the drawings and especially to FIGURES 1 through 7, 10 generally indicates a container, such as, a canister, which may be made of plastic or other suitable durable material. The canister may be of any shape and size and is shown as made in two half sections joined in any suitable manner along the seam 11 and comprises two side walls 12, two end walls 13, a bottom 14 and a top 15.

The top and the upper portions of the side walls are extended beyond one of the end walls and said one end wall has its upper end portion bent at substantially right angles to its remaining portion to provide an extension, which is defined by side walls 12a, bottom 14a and top 1511.

A sifter or agitator element, is mounted within the extension and comprises a circular disk 21, a second circucular disk 22, and axially extending central rod 23 which is secured adjacent one end thereof to disk 21 and adjacent the other end thereof to disk 22 so that disks 21 and 22 and the rod 23 move as a unit. The agitator element also includes a plurality of rods 24 which are spaced apart from each other and secured at opposite ends thereof to the marginal circumferential portions of the circular disks 21 and 22. The opposite end portions of the central rod 23 extend through openings 25 formed by cooperating semi-circular recesses made in the half sections of the bottom 14a and top 15a of the extension and are rotatably supported therein. The central rod 23 also comprises a crank arm 26 to the free end portion of which is secured a finger piece 27. The crank arm 26 and the finger piece 27 together constitute an operating member for the sifter.

A curved or semi-cylindrical moulded screen 28 of plastic or the like is carried within the extension adjacent to the open end '29 thereof and is cemented to the walls 12a when the half sections are joined together. The screen 28 is cooperatively carried or positioned with reference to the rods 24 so that, when the crank arm 26 is rotated, the flour or other material being processed is finely textured. A closure cap 30 is removably and frictionally engaged with the outer faces of the walls which define the open end 29 of the extension.

The top 15 of the canister 10 is provided with an elongated opening 31 adapted to be masked and unmasked by a cover 32, slidably caried by the side walls 12 of the canister. The cover 32 has depending side flanges 33 provided with inwardly extending beads 34 which are re ceived by correspondingly shaped longitudinally extending grooves 35 formed in the upper outer faces of the side walls 12. Adjacent its inner end the cover 32 is provided with a plurality of sprinkler or shaker holes 36 In the use of the device, if it is desired to fill the canister, the cover 32 will he slid outwardly in the direction of the arrow 37 to the position illustrated in FIGURE 7 of the drawings to unmask the filler opening 31 in the top 15. The flour or other desired material will be introduced tothe canister through the opening 31. The cover will then be slid in the opposite direction to its fully closed position shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 5 of the drawings and the cap 30 removed from the extension. The device can now be used as a sifter by rotating the crank arm 26 and the sifted flour or the like will be discharged through the open end 29 of the extension into a mixing bowl or the like. Y

on the line When his desired to use the device as a shaker or sprinkler, the cap 30 will be replaced and the cover 32 slid in the direction of the arrow 37 to the position shown in FIGURE 6 of the drawings in which the holes 36 are brought into registry with the opening 31 in the top 15. When in storage, the cap 30 will be secured over the open end 29 and the cover 32 will be in its innermost position so as to completely mask the opening 31 and thus all dirt, dust and other foreign material is excluded from the interior of the canister. Since the crank arm 26 extends from the top of the canister, the sides are free of all projecting parts and a set of the canisters can be placed side by side in contacting engagement. In this way the set of canisters will occupy a minimum of space and one canister can be removed or replaced without disturbing the others.

A modified form of the invention is illustrated in FIG- URES 8 through 12 of the drawings. In this form of the invention 40 generally indicates a container, such as, a canister, which may be made of plastic or other suitable durable material. The canister may be made of any shape and size and is shown as made in two half sections joined in any suitable manner along the seam 41 and comprises side walls 42 and 43, end Walls 44 and 45, a bottom 46 and a top 47.

The upper portion of the side wall 43 adjacent the end wall 45 is inwardly offset as at 43a, which inwardly ofiset portion is jointed to the side wall 43 by an arcuate shaped connecting portion 43]: extending at an angle of the order of forty-five degrees to the planes of the side wall 43 and its offset 43a. The offset 43a extends outwardly beyond the end wall 45, as indicated at 430, the top 47 and the upper portion of the side wall 42 extend beyond the end Wall 45 and the upper end portion of the end wall 45 is curved upwardly and outwardly and terminates in a fiat free end portion 45:: substantially parallel to the top 47 and its extended portion. The extensions of the side walls, the end wall 45 and the top 47 provide an extension, generally indicated at 48, which is defined by side walls 42a and 43a, bottom 45a and top 47a.

A sifter or agitator element, generally indicated at 49, is mounted within the extension 48 and comprises a rod 50 and an agitator 51. The agitator 51 comprises a pair of side pieces 52 having centrally located apertured bosses 53 through which the rod 50 extends and blades 54 se cured to the opposite ends of the side pieces 52. The blades 54 hold the side pieces in spaced apart parallel relation and the bosses 53 are secured to the rod 50 in- Wardly of the opposite ends of the rod. One end of the rod 50 is received by a bearing 55 which is carried by the inner face of the side wall extension 42a. The opposite end portion of the rod extends through a bearing 56 carried by the inner face of the side wall extension 430 and through the extension 43c and outwardly thereof to have secured thereto a crank 57 having a finger piece 58. The crank 57 and the finger piece 58 together constitute an operating member for the sifter'49.

A curved or semi-cylindrical screen 59 is carried within the extension 48 adjacent to the open end 60 thereof. The free edge portions of the opposite sides of the screen 59 are secured in any suitable manner in the spaces formed by arcuate strips 61, which are secured in any suitable manner to the inner faces of the side walls 42a and 43c.

The screen 59 is cooperatively carried or positioned with 7 reference to the blades 54 of the agitator 51 so that, when bead 63 carried by the walls defining the opening 60. The

closure cap 62 has a flange 64 which carries a lip or head cap 62 over the open end 60 of the extension 48.

The top 47 of the canister 40 is provided with an elongated opening 66 adapted to be masked and unmasked by '65 for cooperating with the lip 63 for retaining the closure a cover 67. The opening 66 is defined by an upstanding flange 68 carried by the top 47, the upper free edge portion of which is outwardly turned to form a lip or head 69 which cooperates with an inwardly extending lip or bead 70 formed on the lower free edge portion of a flange 71 of the cover 67 to removably secure the cover over the opening 66. In order to facilitate the removal of the cover 67, a finger piece 72 is formed on the outer lower edge portion of the flange 71 of the cover.

In order to provide a firm handgrip area on the canister 40, the side walls 42 and 43 are provided with substantially triangularly shaped depressions 73. The depression 73 in the side wall 43 is adapted to receive the thumb and the base of the thumb of the user, while the depression 73 of the side wall 42 is adapted to receive the outer end portions of the fingers of the user. The inner leg 74 of each depression 73 is inclined upwardly and outwardly to prevent the accidental slipping of the thumb and fingers from the depressed areas 73. The outer leg 75 of each depression 73 is outwardly rounded, as can be seen from FIGURE ll of the drawings, so as to prevent slipping of the canister from between the thumb and fingers of the user. The upper portion of the rounded outer leg 75 of each depression 73 merges into a depression 76 which is arcuate in the longitudinal direction of the end wall 44 and is adapted to receive the base of the fingers of the user.

In the use of this form of the invention, when it is'dcsired to fill the canister, the cover 67 will be removed to expose the opening 66 through which the flour or other material to be processed will be introduced into the interior of the canister. The cover 67 will then be replaced and the closure cap 62 will be removed from the opening 60. The device can now be used as a sifter by rotating the crank 57 and the sifted flour will be discharged through the open end 60 of the extension 48 into a mixing bowl or the like.

When the sifting operation has been completed, the closure cap 62 will be replaced and the canister can be stored away upon a shelf or the like, as shown in FIGURE 9 of the drawings. It will be observed frorn'this FIGURE 9-that a number of canisters can be stored in contacting side by side relation so as to occupy a minimum of shelf space. This is made possible by the fact that the operating crank 57 and its finger piece 58 are disposed wholly within the recess formed by the ofiset 43a and the side wall 43 so that the crank and finger piece do not extend beyond the vertical plane containing the side wall 43. The provision of this recess will also accommodate the finger tips of the user when the crank is being rotated and in the event the finger tips of the user come in contact with the connecting piece 43b, it will be noted that this connecting piece presents a smooth curved surface which is struck about the center of the operating rod 50 so that the finger tips of the user will not be hurt or injured.

It will be noted that all of the operating parts are confined wholly within the space defined by the vertical planes containing the side walls 42 and 43 so that none of the parts of the device extend beyond this plane.

It will be noted that in both forms of the invention, the extensions extend beyond one end wall of the container portion and the sifter mechanism is disposed within these extensions so that when the container portion has flour or the like therein the sifter mechanism extension portion and the material filled container portion will counterbalance one another to produce ,a perfectly balanced canister. The extensions will also serve as discharge spouts, the discharge ends of the extensions being outboard of the adjacent portions of the end wall and side walls.

The closure cap 62 and the cover 67 have sufiiciently tight fits with the lips 63 and 69, respectively, to stop or keep air or oxygen out of the flour to prevent germination of black bugs in the flour.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications 3 may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiments of this invention Without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

l. A sifter comprising a permanent unitary integral container portion having opposite side Walls with their outermost surfaces disposed in substantially parallel planes defining a space therebetween, a sitter mounted in said integral container portion, and an operating member for said sifter disposed wholly within the confines of said space, said side walls being free of projections, said container portion having at least one end Wall having an arcuate depressed area for the reception of the base of the fingers of a user of the device, said side walls having depressed areas for the reception of the users fingers and thumb respectively and cooperating with said arcuate depressed area for affording a firm hand grip on the con ainer portion.

2. A sitter comprising a permanent unitary integral container portion having opposite side Walls with their outermost surfaces disposed in substantially parallel planes defining a space therebetween, a sitter mounted in said integral container portion, and an operating member for said sifter disposed wholly within the confines of said space, said side walls being free of projections, said container portion having at least one end Wall and a portion extending beyond said one end Wall and disposed within the confines of the planes of said side walls and constituting a discharge spout, said sitter being mounted within said extending portion, said extending portion having a side wall inwardly offset from one side wall to provide a recess, a connecting portion connecting said one side Wall of the container portion and the side wall of the extending portion, said operating member for the sitter being positioned in said recess, said connecting portion having a curved surface, the curvature of Which is struck on the axis of rotation of the operating member, and said curved surface being radially spaced from said operating member a distance sufiicient to accommodate the finger tips of the operator of said operating member.

3. A canister comprising a container for material to be dispensed from the container by a sitting operation, said container having a shape, weight and size adapting it to be held in one hand of the user when in use and to be stored in a compact area when not in use, said container also having opposite side walls with their outermost surfaces disposed in substantially parallel planes defining a space therebetween and opposed end walls interconnecting said side walls, one of said end walls having a portion extending beyond and overhanging said one end wall and disposed within the confines of said side Walls and constituting a discharge spout, said sitter means comprising a sifter being mounted within said extending portion.

4. A canister as claimed in claim 3 wherein said sifter means further comprises an operating handle which proiccts from the top of said extending portion of said container.

5. A canister as claimed in claim 3, wherein said container has a filling opening, a cover is removably carried by said container for masking and unmasking said opening to permit filling of the container, said cover is slidabiy mounted on said container and is provided With shaker holes adapted to be brought into registry with the opening in the container when the cover is moved to a position between its masking and unmaslting position.

6. A canister as claimed in claim 5, wherein said cover and container have cooperating guide means thereon for guiding the cover in its movements.

7. A canister comprising a container for material to be dispensed from the container by a sifting operation, said container having a shape, Weight and size adapting it to be held in one hand of the user when in use and to be stored in a compact area when not in use, said container also having opposite side walls with their outermost surfaces disposed in substantially parallel planes defining a space therebetween, and sitter means mounted on the container and disposed wholly Within the confines of said space, said container bein made of plastic in two half sections permanently secured together and said sitter means comprising two spaced apart disks, a central rod secured to said disks and rotatably carried by said sections, rods secured to said disks and a sifting screen secured to said half sections and cooperating with said rods to sift the material in the container.

8. A sitter comprising a container portion having side Walls, sitter means mounted on said container, said container portion having at least one end Wall having an arcuate depressed area for the reception of the base of the fingers of a user of the device, said side walls having depressed areas for the reception of the users fingers and thumb respectively and cooperating With said arcuate depressed area for affording a firm hand grip on the container portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 494,753 Brooks Apr. 4, 1893 719,337 Holmes Jan. 27, 1903 1,115,009 Ostdiek et al. Oct. 27, 1914 1,806,159 Goldberg May 19, 1931 2,125,497 Frank Aug. 2, 1938 2,735,548 Hoiness Feb. 21, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 511,709 Canada Aug. 12, 1955 

